Re: mcats

I see absolutely NO reason to tailor a class towards preparation for the MCats.
that's the tail wagging the dog. Student, and unfortunately many professors,
think that students take physics as preparation for the Mcats, when the
question they should be asking themselves is, WHY are physics questions
asked on the exam? I think to ensure that students have taken a physics
course, which therefore should be taught as an exercise in those skills
ALL well educated persons should have, namely clarity of expression,
ability to reason in a number of different ways, squashing habits
of wishful thinking, etc.

Dave Baum

I completely agree with this statement. My view is that pre-med
students are taking physics for two reasons: (1) to learn physics
(mechanics,thermal physics, waves, electricity & magnetism, optics, and
modern) and, perhaps equally important, (2) how to think about the world in
approaching and solving problems. In most of their other courses, these
students are asked to memorize everything. Naturally, they will have
strong memorization skills; and they approach the physics courses hoping to
survive using those skills alone. How many of us want to go to a doctor who
has only memorized medicine and hasn't developed reasoning skills? We
shouldn't be teaching our students how to pass tests. Hopefully, we're
giving them useful skills that they can carry into all aspects of their
lives. That's what teaching any subject is about.